The Sharks this morning confirmed the signing of Bok tourist Lourens Adriaanse on a two-year deal.

We reported on Friday that the Griquas tighthead had agreed to move to Durban at the end of the Currie Cup season. That signing was confirmed via a Sharks press release earlier today.

Durban, 19 August 2013: The Sharks are delighted to confirm the signing of Griquas tighthead prop, Lourens Adriaanse on a two-year deal.

Adriaanse will officially join The Sharks in November 2013 to participate in The Sharks pre-season training ahead of the start of the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament in 2014.

Confirming the signing, The Sharks Rugby Commercial Manager, Rudolf Straeuli stated, “We have been impressed with Lourens performances for both the Cheetahs and Griquas. He has a good work rate around the park and will add depth to our tight five.”

John Smit, The Sharks CEO added, “Lourens has displayed his immense potential and value as a tighthead prop and is a good addition to our squad. We look forward to welcoming him to The Sharks family.”

32 Comments

Good signing yes, but at the cost of a youngster? Guess its more a depth option when Doc is away on Green-duty

Comment 1, posted at 19.08.13 12:14:02 by JustPlainSHARK

@JustPlainSHARK (Comment 1) : At 25 Lourens is hardly a ballie. Especially for a front row forward. It just means that the really young youngster have more time to harden up. Definitely not a bad thing

Comment 2, posted at 19.08.13 12:21:32 by SuperEtts

I would love 2 know the respective budgets of each union in comparison to one another, cheetahs obviously have a much smaller budget then the “big 3″.

Comment 3, posted at 19.08.13 12:25:13 by RuckingFun

@RuckingFun (Comment 3) : It would be interesting to know this. Why do you feel that the Cheetahs “obviously” have a smaller budget though. I d say they have the most internationally recognisable sponsor of all SA teams and am sure they pump in big bucks into the Bloem coffers.

Comment 4, posted at 19.08.13 12:45:00 by Salmonoid the Subtle

Can he also cover loosehead?

Comment 5, posted at 19.08.13 12:50:15 by byron

@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 4) : well player retention and the signing of new players, or lack there of points towards a smaller budget. They seem to live off the scraps from the main table even if they provided most of the food…

Comment 6, posted at 19.08.13 12:54:06 by RuckingFun

@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 4) : Just over 3 years ago Vodacom reduced their rugby sponsorship and let go of a few of their franchises – WP and the Cheetahs being some. At the time you could pick up the deal for about R15m per annum on either team. The WP got a sponsor quickly, but the Cheetahs had to start discounting the price to attract attention – rumor had it at a stage it was closer to R10m. It made sense for Toyota to get involved though. It’s all about supporters base and the Cheetahs have a relatively small and very regionalised base of support in comparison to the rest.

The Cheetahs do suffer in the budget department. It’s also not just about main sponsors, but the ability to run the stadium at a reasonable income (season tickets, hospitality etc.). Here the Cheetahs also struggle behind the rest… money doesn’t come easy to them I afraid.

In comparison Investec paid a rumoured R15m for all the NZ franchises combined… just as a matter of interest.

Comment 7, posted at 19.08.13 12:54:13 by SuperEtts

But I really enjoy what they do with their “limited resources”

Comment 8, posted at 19.08.13 12:55:14 by RuckingFun

@SuperEtts (Comment 7) : I agree that it doesnt seem as if they have the bucks if one looks at their player retention / new signings but I also imagine a sponsor wants to get mileage out of their team, and Toyota did just that this year so one would imagine that they would up their stakes to grow on the success of this year.

As for game attendances and hospitality packages, I understand that the Cheetahs actually had more fans passing through the gates than the Sharks had.

Comment 9, posted at 19.08.13 13:01:20 by Salmonoid the Subtle

I hope Lourens gets some game time in against the Pumas now that he’s been included in the squad. Could mean that we end up losing two THs next year when Springboks are on duty.

Comment 10, posted at 19.08.13 13:11:54 by gregkaos

Maybe its not a bad thing especially considering that the young Dr is a regular springbok, we need him as cover to some extent, though enough game time is also encouraged for everybody in that position

Comment 11, posted at 19.08.13 13:43:13 by mabutho

Happy with this signing. Herbst is not ready yet to step up to Super Rugby level and Jannie is not getting any younger. Great addition to our squad for the next couple of years.

Comment 12, posted at 19.08.13 13:46:14 by TRF_Ezequiel

@TRF_Ezequiel (Comment 12) : Herbst is the same age as Adriaanse and has been “stepping up” quite comfortable in Super Ruby for about the last 3 seasons…

WE GOT ALL THE TALENT IN DURBAN AT UNDER 19′s AND UNDER 20′s LEVEL BUT STILL BUYS ANOtHER PLAYERS. AND GOT SUCH GOOD HIGH SCHOOLS AII POOR SHARKS AND EVERYONE’S ASKING WHY IS EVERYONE LEAVING THE SHARKS THERE IS YOUR ANSWER WE DON’T USE THE YOUNG TALENT AT ALL!! WHAT A SHAME

Comment 19, posted at 19.08.13 19:27:59 by Flippie

I agree Flip as well as the Sharks habit of playing has beens out of position at the expense of young brilliant talent who should be in the position as the case was with Steph at 13 and now Botes at 8 instead of backing Mtembu,crazy stuff

Comment 20, posted at 19.08.13 20:08:43 by benji

simply shocking….Nick Schonert awaiting….and for no reason is it the rudi that wont bring him back……..Go Adriannse,,,but go go Nick Schonert..ur talent is amazing